Famous Fortune Fights!
by Andy & Danielle Mayoras

Huguette Clark

Huguette Clark was a mysterious and reclusive New York multi-millionairess who passed away on May 24, 2011, a mere two weeks short of her 105th birthday.

Clark was the daughter, and only surviving child, of William Andrews Clark, who died in 1925 and was believed to be one of the richest Americans at the time. He built his wealth through copper mining and served as a senator of Montana. For many years, his daughter was thought to have died long ago. Indeed, Huguette Clark hadn’t been seen in the Fifth Avenue apartment that she lived in (and still owned when she died) in 22 years.

Where was she all that time? Living in a hospital room, even though she was in good health when she moved there in the late 1980s. Watched over by a private nurse, her attorney, and an accountant — who was a convicted sex offender — Clark was said to have considered her collection of dolls to be her closest companions. She was isolated from her family members, and the Manhattan district attorney’s office has spent months in a lengthy criminal investigation over how her attorney, Wallace Bock, and accountant, Irving Kamsler, managed her vast fortune.

Huguette Clark is a 104-year mysterious and reclusive New York multi-millionaire whose situation bears a striking resemblance to that of the late Brooke Astor. Like with Astor, Clark is now the subject of a guardianship proceeding in New York brought by relatives who fear that she has been financially exploited. Clark's fortune is estimated to be worth half a billion dollars.

Clark is the daughter, and only surviving child, of William Andrews Clark, who died in 1925 and was described as the first or second richest American at that time. He built his wealth through copper mining and served as a senator of Montana. Many believed his daughter had died long ago. Indeed, she hadn't been seen in the Fifth Avenue apartment that she lived in (and still owns) in 22 years.

An Investigative Reporter for MSNBC.com recently published a lengthy two-part article about Clark and how she has resided alone, in an ordinary New York hospital room, for those 22 years, while her attorney, Wallace Bock, and accountant, Irving Kamsler, managed her finances and reportedly barred her distant relatives (including half-nieces and half-nephews) from visiting.

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